The Enigma Series STARS
by GoreBeeCormick
Summary: Sequel to TES:Marked   "36 Hours― Until we're in Ohio, it's also been two hours since I earned my third scar. I am now next, I can't run away from my inevitable fate...I can only hope the stars will guide me through this" HenrixFour FourxHenri R&R
1. Silhouette Pavements

The

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000

Silhouette Pavements

A new home, a new life, a new identity…

I hate this part the most, the running. After nine months of comfort and stability, feeling almost like the Mogadorians chasing us being a dream, it's now a reality.

The power of silence, it's an unbearable controlling use of weaponry that Henri had decided to practice against me. We have been riding for a few hours now on the highway we're near Branford, on the outskirts of the city. Henri always took routes that weren't too near a large population, whenever we needed to make a stop.

I looked at him; he had a grim facial expression that I had come to know as him thinking and planning in his head. What was he planning or for that matter, thinking? He would never tell me his plans until he knew they were full-proof. Well, to his standard of 'full-proof'…

The moonlight is casting an odd illumination in the car, as if everything that isn't shun by the moon is being swallowed by the dark. My breath against the window, I draw small shapes with the tip of my index finger, I hadn't been in a long car ride since Texas nearly a year ago. Had it been this long already?

It scares me how Henri hasn't said a single word since we left the house, only that we shouldn't have been in Florida to begin with. He was probably upset about the fact I lied to him, I had made a promise. The promise being, I'd be on my best behavior and always keep under the radar and even then, I still blew it.

I let my arm reach out and my fingers hesitantly touch Henri's right that is on the gear shift. His grip on the knob I could see was tighter than I expected, his knuckles were white. Once I touched his hand his eyes instantly flickered to me, it made my breath catch in my throat. My heart thudded massively just from his penetrating glower in the car, the atmosphere tension between us.

"I- I'm sorry…" I admitted aloud, I did feel bad for what had happened back at our old home for the last few days.

"What?" He seems surprised by my submission to admit wrong.

"I didn't mean for the party and that video stuff to happen... And…" I feel the tension in my throat begin to choke my airway, because I couldn't confess how bad I felt for ignoring him.

"I forgive you, it's not like you could have predicted when Three was going to die and taking down the thread wasn't hard…, just, alarming…" his eyes go back to the road quickly, I lick my lips and sense the disregard he had for what had happened in Florida.

His words left a sour taste in my mouth, he is never the one to be easy to forgive or, as eagerly. There was something that probably bugged him still he wasn't going to let me know, not yet.

"Alarming?" I probe at his thoughts.

"Yeah, when I saw that video all I could think was 'how long until _they_ see this?'… I almost believed you were going to end up dead at the door…" His voice sounded shaky, the memory probably still fresh in his mind from what I could gather.

"Just by seeing me in that video…?" our gazes meet for a brief moment, then his sights are back on the road again.

"Could you imagine death in front of your eyes, an image so vivid you can nearly reach out and touch it…?" his tone came out cold, it made a shiver run up my spine.

I didn't reply and contemplated his words, because the answer relied within the visualization of him being dead in my arms. The vision I had had the previous night beforehand, all the blood and heat that left his body felt so real draped beneath my grips. His breath against my ear, whispering his final words before he died came abruptly into my thoughts. The image blinking and unwaveringly raced in my sights as I watched the moon, I felt tears hotly run down my cheeks.

I use my shirt to wipe away my embarrassment and just as I did, Henri pulls over and parks the car. He did it so fast I nearly hit my head on the dashboard when he hit the brakes. I turn to him; he unbuckles his seat-belt and gives me this intensely fixed gaze that left my insides wanting to tremble.

"What's going on, Four?"

"Nothing..." I mumble, gazing out the window for a moment, taking in the dimly lit back road with trees lacing around the empty plains then, back to him.

"Bullshit," he scowls back, "What's making you this upset… Is it about what I mentioned earlier?" his eyes gaudy with concern.

"No." I answer firmly I didn't want to think of that dream as a vision of any sorts… Because if it was, how could I deal with that burden of thought?

"Four," He starts to reach out to me and I shift away, uncomfortably against the passenger door I felt like a guarding wall against his hammer-like analytical worries.

"I said 'no' Henri." I hear him sigh in frustration, then something unexpected happens, he gets out of the car slamming the door behind him and starts to walk down the road.

Stubbornly I sit in the car for a few minutes, what the heck was up with him? Was he that concerned or just curious?

Getting irritated at my own weighing thoughts, I get out of the car and follow him. He walks pretty damn fast I almost had to jog up just to catch up to him.

When I reach him, a sight for sore eyes comes into my view. A familiar clenched jawline and his dirty habit of lip biting are pronounced in the chilly air.

I walk beside him, kicking a few rocks and look at the small patches of forests. While admiring the view that surrounded me, it was going to be sunrise in a few hours.

"Henri?" I question him out loud.

"Go back to the car, I need to think."

"Outside in the middle of the night on the side of a road, that's your new method of thinking?" I probe his choice in words.

"Get back in the car before I make you," he answers with a stern expression, he watches me with forlorn eyes.

"Why?"

"Just… Don't come near me right now," He warns and keeps walking and I stop.

That hurt considerably to hear that coming from him. He turns around and comes back to face me, he must of realized something then, maybe it was the fact he had pretty much told me to fuck off and I can't exactly do that.

"What am I to you?" It's an alarming question to have him ask me this.

"You know what you are to me." I look down at the gravel, then to him.

"Do I? Because, if I am then, you wouldn't have kept that vision you had yesterday slip under the radar and taken your anger out on a kid at school."

"You don't even know what it was about or, for that matter, how I felt!"

"I would know if you had trusted in me and just told me!" He counters back quickly.

"I- I don't need this right now," I drag out, feeling heat flush in my cheeks. Before I can turn around and head back to the car, he captures me and holds me close to his broader built chest.

"Four, I just want to help you, to be here for you…"

"I know you do! But, this is different!" I try to reason out with him, he embraces me closer.

"Please, tell me." he murmurs gently to me.

"You were dead! Okay? Dying in my arms! It felt real, more real than this scar on my leg!" my voice came out hoarse.

"I am here right now, I won't ever leave you." He kisses my forehead, it just brings strain in my chest, his words coiling into me and constricting around my thoughts.

"Don't lie to me," I feel hot streams of liquid viciously track down my face, "You're better liar than a lover, you know that?"

"It's my job isn't it?" he smiles timidly and rubs my cheeks to get rid of any tears.  
>He is trying to reassure me like he always does, with lies.<p>

- Prologue ͽ-

**Hope you enjoy this! If you don't know this, it's the sequel to THE ENIGMA SERIES: MARKED  
>Please, read that before reading this! Thank you!<br>Please PLEASE review! I enjoy to hear your opinions and, what you think is to happen next ;) **


	2. Coffee and Cakes

The

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001

Coffee and Cakes

I'm running, running as fast as I can in a forest, why am I running? This must be a dream because something blurred and blue is making everything fuzzy. I'm screaming, why am I screaming and to who? I can't read my own lips all I know is I am seeking someone out then I feel coldness ricochet through my being and freezes the warmth in me.

It comes again, that terrifying sight making my blood run cold, Henri being in my arms on a well cropped field, the rain always pouring. This time, I try my best to stop the bleeding, but the more I try the limper he gets.

"I can save you!" I yell desperately and cling to him, he laughs at me…

"Save yourself…" he gasps out a hardy laugh that echoes in me, then I am sucked in by a black void.

_'You can't escape fate…'_

I feel everything in me stiffen, it's like I'm drowning. I feel weightless and wondering if I am dead or not a sudden tapping noise wakes my senses. Rapidly, my eyes snap open its daylight that threatens my vision and when my eyesight settles it's on Henri. He peers down at me curiously from outside the car, I pant for air taking in a deep inhale then a long exhale.

Calm yourself Four, you can't freak out like this… Not in front of Henri.

It was a dream… Thank god it was a dream or was it a vision, maybe an …? What could it mean?

I'm frightened to know the answer. I up at Henri, unbuckle my seat belt and get out of the vehicle. I stretch my taut limps and a whimper passes my lips, I notice that we are at a small diner.

"Where the hell are we?"

"Good afternoon to you too Mr. Grumpy, we're near Athens. Breakfast is over but I sweet talked the waitress so, hurry up." He gestures for me to follow him into the small diner.  
>"How long have I been asleep?" I ponder out loud.<p>

"You took a nap when we left Branford and I got through the boarder of Georgia a few hours ago. So, I'd say 10 hours, give or take." He answers with a small smile.

"Holy shit, you let me oversleep that much!"

"You were pretty tired. I wouldn't blame you, this is a long drive." He shrugs off curtly as I follow suite.

We enter the diner and take a seat near the far right corner of the place. It doesn't look like much, cheap yellow painted walls, green tables and white flooring. There is no lighting and only a few truck drivers are at the bar sitting having their mugs filled with coffee.

A waitress comes up to us her pink outfit making her nearly illuminate in the place. She has curly chocolate coloured hair and rather tanned skin she appears to look a few years younger than Henri. She gives him a welcoming smile and her dark brown eyes inspect me for a brief moment.

"Well, look whose back with a friend, I see!" She says beaming, Henri chuckles in bemusement.  
>"Yes, I can't keep away from you. This is my son," he gestures to me and our eyes meet for a split moment then back to the waitress.<p>

"Handsome devil you are, we don't get cuties like you 'round here often. So, excuse my thoughts. I'll get you another mug of Joe and that breakfast right away!" she winks at Henri, both share a laugh and I feel my face heat up.

She leaves our table, "Just how long have you been in here?" I question, the waitress returns and pours Henri a mug filled of coffee.

He puts one cube of sugar in and stirs, I stare at him with impatience.

"Hmm, it's one in the afternoon so, I'd say three hours. She rather is a nice waitress, her name is Joyce; I enjoyed her company while you slept in the car. I also made a few phone calls and got everything arranged, now, the only thing I have to do is get our identities printed out. I can't make up my mind on names so, I thought it would be better if you came up with our next identities. Since, I got to choose them last time and you're always the more creative one on that." He speaks nonchalantly guzzling down his mug-filled-with-coffee.

"First of all, where are we going? I checked the Atlas last night, you had nothing circled out."

"Guess..." He has this smug grin etched on his face.

Joyce places a plate of scrambled eggs, hearty pile of bacon and some hash browns in front of me. I chow down quickly. When I finish Henri has another refill of coffee and observes the restaurant, he's always paranoid. But, I wouldn't blame him, my number is up. I'm next on the Mogs shit-list to kill I can't pretend to be calm about it. I'm not as afraid as I should be, I thought by now I'd be eyeballing the next exit and knowing a perfect route mapped out in my head like Henri probably has from the way he's staring around the place. If anything suspicious came about he'd get us out faster than I could blink, he's on his highest alert.

"North, so, Canada?" I answer him finally, while I take a long swig of orange juice.

"Not that far north, you know I can't handle cold weather." He snickers at me with playful gleaming eyes.

"North Carolina?"

"You're getting warmer." He winks at me while I ponder.

"West Virginia?" I inquire, feeling excitement fill the space between us.

"You're getting hot!" he's having fun with this game.

"C'mon Henri, just tell me!" I feel heat rise in my cheeks, I hate guessing games like this.

"You're really close, why spoil it when this is so much more fun?"

"Okay…, Ohio?"

"Bingo! You win a prize all expenses paid new life!" he makes a small clap and I have the urge to smack his wide spread grin.

"Shut up." I sneer at him, taking a sip of juice.

"Awe, was I being too ambitious this early in the day?"

"You're being a pretentious asshole this early in the day."

"Oh, at this moment you're just exciting me." He teases and I let out a sigh, he's stubborn.

"You're something else, you know that?" I finally let a grin slip at how eager Henri was to be so enthusiastic for someone who had no sleep and another day's worth of driving ahead of him. He's probably relying on coffee like a relapsing crack-head, I assumed from the way he polished off another cup he was onto his fourth, now.

"I'd like to hope so," his eyes flicker to me and an earnest gesture comes about. He reaches and grazes his hand over mine for a second, then retreats back to his coffee mug.

"You're going to end up with a heart-attack with all that caffeine in you."

"We need names not complaints," he answers while reading a newspaper.

"Okay…" I look around thinking of what I could possibly name myself, I've got thousands to select, just what did I want?

I observe everything around a sign on the far corner has a "Smiths" sign and it hits me like a ton of bricks, "John Smith! I've never been a John or a smith before, could be a good change."  
>"It doesn't get more average than 'John Smith' that makes me Mr. Henri Smith."<p>

Our new identities Henri and John Smith, father and son… I hated to think of us as that, knowing we are so much more. More than anyone could ever figure out. If they were to figure out the special bond we shared, it would be frowned upon here on Earth, and even back on Lorien, Garde and Cêpan being together would still be illegal because of our cultural difference and age. Nothing of what we are can be looked at as simple or, in fact 'okay'.

As if reading my thoughts, Henri's hand clasps over my own and says, "I know you don't like the idea of us being father and son, neither do I, but if we were to be anything else the Mogs would surely find us or worse, jail. I suppose I should start calling you John, now, huh?" he said giving a dry chuckle to the conversation.

"Yeah, I guess so." I shrug and don't allow the inner turmoil to let on.

Joyce comes back again this time with two slices of cake, one vanilla the other, chocolate. She tells us it's on the house and gives Henri the bill.

I nibble on a piece of the chocolate slice and ask, "Where's our next stop?"

"Charlotte in North Carolina, hopefully we'll make it there by Sunday morning… If I don't make too many stops, I still have to print out everything." he grunts unhappily, probably at the thought of another night with no rest.

"What about Monday morning?" I offer, I felt bad to think of how stressing this was on Henri.

"Real estate agent, I'm hoping we arrive at the house by Monday morning." He says uninterestedly taking a chunk of vanilla cake with his fork and eats the small piece.

"Makes sense…"

I feel the tug of unhappiness waver in I haven't felt anxious to know what my new identity and life will present since North Carolina, in fact.

"How odd is it we're going near where I got my second scar?" I didn't like to think of my scars as my fellow Gardes because when I did I wondered what they were like. How did they feel, who there where exactly, where they in love? Did one have the exact situation as me? Did they have their legacies? Millions of questions swam, Henri considered it unhealthy to give the dead so much importance.

"How odd indeed… Colorado is far from here though," He spoke with a thick strain in his tone that gave away deep sense of thought.

I savior my doubts with cake and steal a bite from Henri's plate, the flavor is rather bitter for vanilla.

How better of a way to spend a penny of my thoughts than on cake?

OHHHHH what's to happen now? :)


	3. Terrors and Erebus

The

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>002<br>Terror and Erebus

"You're kidding me, right?"

"I kid you not, when I was supposed to be reporting daily actions I was with my second girlfriend in the dorms. She was some crazy in bed I tell you, because next thing I know the fire alarm goes off. I'm in nothing but my briefs in the pouring rain! My commanding officer made me the prime example for the academy."

I laugh as Henri explains to me his sophomore years in soldier training, "You didn't get kicked out for pulling that, did you?"

"No, I had laundry and drill duty for a month both junior and seniors made me their bitch! Well worth it though, ah Loretta." he shakes his head on reminiscing the memories.  
>I continue to play an alien game pretending to be the fictional character destroying the Mogadorians into ash.<p>

"You know, you've been at that game for hours. What makes it so eye bottling?"  
>"Probably the fact I love imagining that I'm killing Mogs instead of these virtual aliens."<p>

"You like to fictionally destroy Mogadorians? Games are really unhealthy for you, it's not like reality. There's blood, screaming, begging for mercy and you actually need to outsmart them not just press a bunch of buttons on a game console."

"Pfft, better than reality," I say while continuing to play without looking at him.  
>Henri looks at me and grabs my game, "Hey!" I whine and he throws the game out of the window, "I was playing that!"<p>

"That's reality for you." He laughs and I give him a challenging look.

I take off my shirt and roll down the window throwing the shirt out and smirk with satisfactory.

"Why did you throw your shirt out?" He looks at me inquisitively.

"That was _your_ shirt, not mine." I grin smugly feeling triumphant with throwing Henri's shirt out the window.

"You are one clever shithead."

Both of us enjoy a chuckle, I grab a sweater from behind my seat in one of the many bags and pull out a plain dark blue one and wear it. It's night out and I decided I would try to pull off an all-nighter with Henri. I know he gets lonely when traveling and I sleep, because I would feel the exact same if we switched roles. We got to the North Carolina boarder just two hours ago and now, heading towards Charlotte City to get everything prearranged before we go through Virginia then, we'll be in Ohio.

He kept staring at the rear-view mirror and I slightly question his compulsory to it, "What're you looking at?"

"No one… Nothing, so, have you been having visions lately? Anything you feel you need to talk about or don't understand?"

Well wasn't he being ambitious today? I thought to myself as every muscle in my body stiffens, it brought back the dream I had earlier in the morning.

"N- No…" Damn, I hesitated.

"You make one terrible bullshitter you know that?"

"You make one terrible 'parental figure' you know that?"

"This isn't about my awesome skills in being your guardian. This is about you, John."

"I haven't had any, only that one with you being dead. What does it mean if I see someone dead in my dreams?"

"Not good, that's for sure. Maybe it's from the stress of moving and Three being dead?"

"Maybe it's from the Jinx, I mean, I still have visions and I hear whispering once in a while…"

"Yeah, being Marked isn't the greatest curse to have of all Loric spells…" he spoke softly, I observe him as his hand gently brushed our Mark on his chest.

"Do you still dream of her, of Julianne?"

"Sometimes… I don't like to think of her as nothing more than a memory." His eyes glossed over with hurt, the pain on his face blunt and obvious.

"You make a terrible liar yourself, Henri."

"Only around you," he's being sentimental about Julianne, I remembered that vision I had months ago of her being executed. Even remembering it, not knowing who she was or loving her like Henri did, it still made my heart twist in near agony to think that he had experienced all those memories first-hand.

"Your life would probably have been better if Lorien wasn't exterminated, babysitting me all the time."

"Don't you dare say that, if it wasn't for that misfortune things wouldn't be how they are now. Everything happens for a reason, John. Somehow, the near death of our race brought about a fate better than death, because out of all of it, as selfish as this may sound…, I got you. I was given the chance to make a second life with you." His tone dripped with thick emotion I didn't know how to perceive that for a moment.

"What good of a life is that if we are running around changing our lives to fit in? At least on Lorien you didn't have to go on the constant run."

"On Lorien, I wouldn't have been allowed to see you or for that matter, be with you. And I'd defiantly get executed for doing this…" he turns and his right clasps my chin and pulls me into a hard kiss. I eagerly accept his notion.

Our lips press against each other for a few seconds. I pull away and lick my lips in contentment. "Okay, you do have a point there."

"By the way, it's not babysitting if I enjoy the company and I am certainly not getting paid to look after you, right now."

"Didn't the elders give you jewels though?"

"If I seriously wanted the money and not you, would have left you a long time ago. Are you trying to convince me I don't want you?"

"― Just the lifestyle,"

"I prefer being a computer-wiz loner than a soldier, or, an alien on this planet with no company but money."

"You could buy women and have millions, if I wasn't lagging around,"

"Your 'lagging' is something I rather enjoy, plus, money can't buy me love." He flashes a brilliant smile as the radio plays The Beatles exact song.

"Money could buy you a fun night with strippers." I suggest.

A mischievous grin imposes on his face, "How much would it cost to get the same treatment from you?"

I normally would come up with some remark but all I could do was blush, "Too much for you." I finally mumbled out.

"I'll find out soon enough."

Henri has gotten quicker and bolder with his words around me. He used to never mention our relationship this much let alone flirting but, here he was hitting on me. And I actually enjoyed this conversation it had a thrill to it because, I wanted to see if he'd really get what he wanted from me.

"You sure you could seduce me before I could?"

"I'm pretty sure I could get you to do it, if I persisted. Remember that sunset swim we had three weeks ago?"

My face heats up recalling a very detailed visual what had happened on Florida's beach three weeks ago. I had finished surfing around sundown Henri had a blanket laid out on the shore for us. We spent the sunset talking and observing the beautiful sight. When it was dark out and the waters still warm, we went skinny dipping. The boldest thing I had ever done with him, once we got into chest length of water under the docks he pinned me up to the pole and the rest is self-explanatory.

"You know, I had to kiss you so much to prevent the coast guards from hearing you?"

"Do you know how sore I was after that?" I grumble out agitated while he snickered at me.

"You enjoyed it if I recall correctly, you sort of begged me to 'not' stop." I punch his arm with much force and retreat back to looking out the window, he was right but he didn't have to say it.

"You're cocky maybe I should treat you like what you're supposed to be, 'dad'."

"Awe, now you're being mean. Since when does it matter if I like your moans and your facial expressions when we're in bed? It's no one else but you and me. A lap dance is a fun thought though,"

"Please, don't tell me you're picturing that right now?"

"If you only knew," he winks and I roll my eyes.

"Perverted old-man," I grumble out.

I take an hour nap when I wake, the cars pulled over and not at a gas station we had done that before I had taken a nap. Henri's not in the car either, I look around and feel panic flood into me. Where was he?

I look for the duffel bag that I know has the Loric blade in it; I open the bag it's gone.

Oh shit, shit, shit.

I get out of the car trailing around the road I feel urgency and panic, where the hell was he? Why had he stopped, could something have happened to him? He couldn't… No. I felt a million fears and unnerving thoughts settle in my mind. My inside turn cold and nearly unmoving in shock when I spot Henri coming from the darkest part of the forest, sweaty and he's heavy to catch his breath. I wonder what happened with no further or deeper consolation to it I instantly speed my way to him.

I can tell he was in a fight of some sorts by his sweaty state but the blood and dirt on him concerned me immensely, "What happened?"

He stares at me for a moment straight in the eyes then, looks back to the forest marveling it as if recalling what happened then, his sights settles on mine, again. He wipes the back of his hand on his forehead a smeared blood marks his forehead like a banner.

"Nothing, whatever just happened it is finished. I need kerosene, I need to burn it….." he speaks lowly and disconnected, my view goes to his hands that are shaking with the Loric blade in his constricted gripped palm.

The blood of whatever he killed dripped from the curved elegant silver blade onto long grass beneath. The blade dimly lit between us in the dark of night, I see tire tracks on the dusty road that turned inwards towards the mouthing entrance to the forest Henri had just been in.

"Henri...," I softly entangle my fingers around the blade in his fist, "―Thank you." Somehow I sensed whatever he had done back there was to save my life.

He sighs as he sluggishly releases his grasp on the blade and I take it from him and clutch it firmly. My other hand, instinctively wipes away the blood from Henri's forehead his eyes look dim and jaded with thought.

"Are you going to be okay?" I ask in the deepest way I can convey to him. He shakes his head then leans forward, our foreheads touch.

"In time…, when we get away from here and to Ohio."

"Yeah, that is true." I knew he would not tell me what he had killed or what had just happened but that we needed to move on, be safe. As safe as we can be, I think bitterly.

I lean up and kiss him quickly he was relieved by my display of affection.

"All I need is you…" he spoke so softly against my mouth I almost didn't catch on, what had exactly happen? What could have him remembering our first kiss?

"C'mon, lets head back we've got drive a head of us." I offer with a small smile and pull away, he only nods.

"Yes, 24-hours... I need a cup of coffee."

"I'll get you one on our next stop." I answer.  
>He walks back to the truck getting the can of kerosene I thought we had disposed of back in Florida. Apparently, we hadn't and Henri obviously wanted to dispose of this "thing".<p>

"Stay here," he leaves and it truly is unsettling to think he had killed someone or something he wasn't willing to tell me.

I wait ten minutes for him until a misty orange dull glow set alight in the distance, I wait impatiently for him. He reappears and he looked positively morbid. He doesn't say a word and I instantly follow him to the car. We get in and drive off.

I keep staring at him hoping he'll say something, anything to break this intolerable silence. He keeps his thoughts and my worries silent and unmoving for a while. I notice that there's blood still dripping from Henri's right upper arm, it was soaking into his grey thermal shirt.

"Let me see your arm." I demand, he turns to me and blankly stares for an instant.

"What?" His tone sore and trembling, he constantly glares at the rear-view mirror.

"Here―" I grab his arm and he still drives. I pull the sleeve until his upper bicep is visible.

The view causes a shudder in me, a deep gash still raw and open simply bleeding down his arm.

"Henri, next motel we are pulling in."

"But―" He tries to plea with me, I shake my head. He's not treating this like it's something minor that will go away.

"I don't care for your excuses. We are making a stop and getting this fixed up, whether you like it or not."

He grudgingly agrees as we continue to drive up, the next motel a mile or so away. The distance never felt more nerve-wracking.

Why had I allowed this to happen to him?

-


	4. Motels and Stitches

The

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003

Motels and Stitches

We sat in the motel room awkwardly, it had two beds and Henri persisted in me getting some of the computer equipment out and the printer. I complied with him and got them into the motel room when he finished setting it up and about to turn on the computer I grabbed him and jerked him towards me.

"Hold it, I told you that injury is not going to be treated like a minor cut."

"I don't have time for this, John. I have to get our identities done, we are already behind."

"No, the paper work can wait but not your wounds." I answer firmly, he gives me this stubborn look and my grip on his uninjured arm tightens.

He sits at the edge of the bed, I go to the car and snatch the first aid kit, and I get back into the room. Henri already has his shirt removed just waiting on me to start. He looks impatient and completely jaded in thought; wherever his mindset was it wasn't in this motel room.

"I can do this myself," he grumbles unpleasantly as I observe the gash on his arm.

"Yeah, you always say that."

The gash looks raw and irritated; I had once got a good cut like this before from climbing a tree and losing my balance. These kinds of wounds always feel as painful as they look, how had he kept his pain so solemn and unscathed? The blood clotted and crusted but once the rubbing alcohol touched his wound the blood, plasma and scabs gushed down his arm I saw the real damage. Nearly three inches deep of a cut and somehow he kept this facial expression unchanged.

"What did this to you?" I sterilized the needle and stitching thread. I put antiseptic and polysporin, seeing Henri's wound made me cringe with guilt.

The first stitches I place into his arm I hear him groan and his eyes completely avoid me. He looks at the blank computer screen with this hard stare of concentration like he eagerly wanted to get to that computer. I finish up quickly placing some gauze and wrapping around his arm bandages. He gets up and heads for the bathroom.

"Wait, you didn't answer me! Henri, what is going on? What happened in that forest, you can't expect me to accept no explanation!"

He turns to me so quickly his arms come around my hips and he pulls me into a hard kiss. I nearly accepted it but I pushed away in revolt, I wanted to know what was going on with him! This wasn't normal of him, not at all.

I pull away and gaze at him with a pleading look, "What's going on, Henri?"

He pulls out a crumbled paper from his back pocket and hands it to me, "Read it."

My heart leaped to my throat and I had to catch myself from falling…

"Ones location: Malaysia (deceased)

Twos location: England (deceased)

Threes location: Kenya (deceased)

Four: Spotted in Florida (has yet to be identified on the pursuit)"

"What… What is this?"

"The five minutes it took for me to take down that thread, how foolish of me… It gave that bastard scout a chance… He saw your scar, he knew, he followed us since we were near the border of Florida… I saw him parked behind the restaurant in Athens. It was my fault, my ignorance to think that no Mog had the ability to hack through that firewall… He caught onto me and he tried to hack into my files. But, thank Lorien I was faster with codes than he was… He was the one in the forest he tried to drag you out. He threatened to contact the whole hive… I wouldn't allow you to get hurt it's my duty to protect you. No other Mog knows of his information, he challenged me, wanted me injured to see if you'd come to my aid… If I hadn't killed him, he would've flagged you or worse, killed you… I couldn't live with that, not in this lifetime, you're all I have." Henri nearly choked on his own words, looking down at the floor in complete misery like he failed the entire universe for something that was my fault, in fact.

"Henri…" I whisper out, I don't know what to say or how to take the situation. He had saved my life while I slept unknowing of this… What was my solemn promise he had taken upon himself. I had failed him, I had allowed him and I to be endanger. How stupid was I? Jeopardizing our lives by going to that party knowing full damn well someone was going to video me…

His head drops onto my shoulder his hot breath tickle against my neck then, I feel damp heat soak my shoulder… Was he crying?

"Henri are you…?" he exhales as I take a sharp draw in of breath, the atmosphere felt choking.

"Shut up… Please, just let me ask you a question," he whispers and my heart starts to thud faster. Henri in all my life rarely ever cries… Ever, this alarmed me more than that piece of paper. "Do you think I'm a good Cêpan?"

I let a chuckle humble my anxieties, "Henri, how silly are you today? Listen to me…" I clasp his cheeks and force his face into my sights, his eyes are puffy and tear stained. This was a first in a long time I had ever seen him like this… Vulnerable, "You have kept me safe since before we were even on earth. This scout caught you off guard, which was my fault, not yours. You're a force to be reckoned with; those computer skills make you better than One to Three's Cêpans. I wouldn't have any other person to look over me in this whole universe other than you. Don't doubt your capabilities on my account. Please, don't think different, Henri."

A side smirk etches on his face he lets out this relived laugh, shaking his head he pulls me closer to him, "I really sound crazy today, don't I?"

"Yea, I am pretty sure you're sounding crazy but, I like crazy." I kiss him gently, he sighs against my lips in relief. We exchange lips warmth and I pull away before it gets too heated.

"Thank you… I needed that," Henri drawls out and releases his hold on me.

"It's fine, take a shower and I'll help get started on forging the documents." I answer, he nods and retreats to the bathroom.

I still had the paper in my hand, I stare at the writing it's rough and looked different from normal handwriting. It had this harsher indent; this scout had the full intent on killing me and Henri. He almost got Henri, that injury proved just how badly I needed my legacies… How can I keep this up if there is always a constant danger? I know we can't hide from them but, Henri has come closer to a fate we try so hard to avoid than I have.

I belittle my worries with sitting down and working on our new lives, Henri had taught me a few tricks and basic layouts of identities and forging them, how to make them look more legitimate. By the time he got out of the shower I had the basics done, birth certificates and healthcare insurances with some government approved stamping.

"Good job, you really are catching on," Henri says from behind me, I look up, his hair is sleeked back and cut, his beard isn't a scruffy long one but a more professional shape and with short stubble.

"I like this new due you got going there, Mr. Smith." I joke and we share a laugh.

"Good, I have a box of bleach with your name on it, when you first mentioned being 'John Smith', what came to mind was a blonde… Here," he hands me a box of hair dye.

I grab it and shake it for a moment, a blond, would I look good as a blond? I hadn't been blond since three moves ago in Kentucky. "Alright, guess I'm a blonde."

I look in the mirror, my roots still grown in but the blond chunks bright and visible. I get out and lazily pass a towel through my hair and Henri already on the computer, printing and probably finalizing our new identities. I slip on a pair of boxers and stalk behind him, draping my arms from behind him around his neck loosely hanging on his chest. I hear his deep sigh his hand gently rubs my arm, his head drops back to lean against my shoulder.

"You look good, Four."

"Thanks," I say as I leave and sit on the edge of the far left bed, gazing around the cheap motel.

Henri comes up to me and kneels down, holding the antiseptic and Polysporin in his hand I had used earlier on him. I stare at him intently, waiting for whatever he had in mind to happen. He grabs my right ankle that has my three scars that proved I am next on the list to be hunted. His index finger traces Three's marking. It was still deep, red, and tender but Henri's touch always eased my pains. He applies the antiseptic, I just observe him. Hesitantly I outstretch my arm and pass my fingertips nearly trembling through Henri's hair gradually descending down to his jawline until I reached his chin. I timidly lift his chin to look at me.

"Henri…" I don't need to say much for him to recognize what my intentions or my feelings between us.

He takes hold of my hand and our fingers intertwine with a gentle squeeze he brings the top of my hand to his lips and gently kisses my middle knuckle. His eyes flicker up to me with need and within seconds I'm pushed down and our lips savagely take each other.

We intoxicate each other, sometimes rapid and hungry like starved animals other times, slow and excruciatingly passionate. Because, we never know when it will be our last time being entangled in each others arms or warmth again. Tonight it was fierce and vicious and forceful, nearly violent in nature.

The nearer he is to me I see now, the tougher it's going to be if I were to ever lose him… Does he notice that while I tremble beneath his grip?

I couldn't deliberate about it instead, I got lost being surrounded by his essence and gripping him desperately on the motel bed.

R&R THANK YOU.


	5. Zombies and Aliens

The

ʒ ɳ ї ʛ ɱ ɐ

Series ͽ :

Ṥ ṭ α Я ϩ

004

Zombies and Aliens

I didn't dream that night just slept in a peaceful oblivion. When I woke the sound of printing and keyboard clicking seeped into my hearing, an irritating sound I had grown accustom to since I was seven.

I stretch and move out of the bed, I sigh, my lower back still ached.

I grab and put on a pair of pants and a grey T-shirt, when I turn to Henri he pulls a few papers and gets up grabbing the small pile of documents.

"We need to go," he states briefly, while unplugging all of the equipment he had me bring out yesterday.

I follow his directions and grab a printer and a few other things; packing them into the back of the car I notice Henri was still deep in thought. His gaze blank and his expression the very same, only for a few minutes he'd concentrate on a random object then back into whatever he was doing. He defiantly had something still on his mind; I could guess a million reasons or options as to why… But, I wouldn't know the exact reason unless I asked him.

There's a sickening nervousness towards the thought of Henri not wanting to tell me what was bugging him, even though last night he held me closer than any usual night. Even, embracing me, almost any time I'd leave the bed he grabbed me back and forced me into his arms. Which, I don't mind most of the time, but this was more desperate and needy.

I pack anything that I had left out and carelessly throw everything into the car and we drive off. We stop at a small buffet to eat near the border of West Virginia.

"I'll probably take the main highway and enter south of the border in Ohio…"

"Well, where is this town anyways…?"

"South and on the outskirts of the town is where our new home is."

"What's the place even called?"

"Paradise, Ohio… Small and rural, all the cows and crops you can see for miles."

"Seriously… From the beach to farmers, should I really ask?"

"I thought it would be a nice change," he offers while slugging down a cup of coffee.

"Will I end up being chased by crazy farmers?" I laughed.

"Maybe, it's getting close to Halloween, they could think you're some spooky 'city-boy'…" he pauses and a smirk etches his features, "Or a zombie…"

"A zombie! Now, you're just being ridiculous!" I say while taking a mouthful of pancakes covered in syrup.

"Am I?" he quirks a mischievous smile, while checking the newspaper for a brief moment.

"They'd suspect me to be an E.T., if anything." I lazily answer, while I busied myself with finishing my lunch.

"E.T…? No way, zombies are much more expected…"

"They have been suspicious of aliens for a long time, Henri."

"Yeah, but they expect little grey or green men with bulging eyes to come from a crop field and probe them…Is that really more believable than the government reanimating corpses with the basic function of wanting to eat brains?"

"Both are ridiculous."

"True," he chuckles while I shrug at his preoccupied easiness.

"Do you seriously think the government would make zombies?" I question this, since Henri had told me once that the government had suspected Loric's for quite some years.

Our race and also the Mogadorians have been around for centuries observing this planets cultures and ways. The only reason people drew 'aliens' so silly was because of our animals and Mogadorians creatures got loose on the planet. Explaining why there were myths of the Loch Ness monster; fairies; vampires (Mogadorian shape shifting creatures Henri had also told me once); big foot; chupacabra, Werewolves, and most of the worlds unexplained creature sightings.

"They already have, John." He grins enormously and gets another refill of coffee. He sits back down and I am almost certain he is joking.

"Zombies… Sometimes I just don't want to ask…" I say, playing with an extra fork on the table.

"Well, I have hacked into'Area-51' a few times just to check out if they had any suspicion on us, or even any of the Loric's information on Mogs they could provide. They only had files that weren't of any use to me, but I snagged on to a few confidential ones and found out it was a massive project to test out bio nuclear weapons. The results, a dead army at your disposal but, they can't seem to get everything quite right… Not yet."

"Should 2012 be a scary year, how the hell did you get away without them knowing?"

"I have my ways John. No, No, give it thirty years tops, we'll have those Zombies soon enough. Loric knows how disastrous that will be, humans, so violent in nature… They are fascinating." he has this sinister grin.

Henri knew many things and his hacking was always immaculate and professional. I sometimes speculated and even got disturbed to consider how much illegal information he had obtained over the years. He had told me back in his soldier days, he was a spy stationed on earth for a few minor years. They were getting cautious of humans and Loric's interactions. If there were to ever be war between our planets and we could not deliberate a leveling, Loric's knew earth's weakness and would destroy them. Though, he mentioned, Loric's only reduced themselves to violence if earth made the first move. But, it's a different story we have to defend them, now. The way I've figured it, this planet will probably be my permanent home. I don't know what Lorien looks like now. I've seen Lorien only in those visions before it was invaded.

We continue our drive, and Henri decided we should play a game… A game I used to do all the time when I was younger, we called it 'Who am I?' the basic concept was to come up with your false life, whoever sounded more believable would win.

"My name is Ashton Datsun, I was raised on Houston Texas on a farm, and I had a pet bunny named Joe-Anne when I was younger. Sadly, after a tractor incident she was killed. My teenaged years I decided to run away from home and live in Austin, Texas with my two cousin's George and Bernadette. I also unambiguously became a veterinarian after having constant memories and flashbacks of my dead bunny."

"That sounds pretty convincing Henri. My turn, my name is Paul McAllister I was raised in New York with my widowed mother Sandra and we decided to move to Main when I was about eight. I was always seeking a father figure in my life so, when I was about twelve I started looking for my dad and I wanted to know what happened to him. Turns out, he was ex-con that had been arrested when I was just a newborn getting caught in a robbery and associated murder. I was so angered by my mother's lies and father being a convict I started to rebel. Ran away and haven't looked back ever since."

"You win this round! You've gotten better, now how about John Smith?"

"Mother died when I was too young to remember, you're a motivated writer and currently observing small town life for an upcoming novel. I have asthma so I can't play sports. I lived in Toronto, Canada before we moved to Ohio-"

"Toronto? Seem to be a little tan for Toronto, don't you think?" Henri said.

"Okay… Santa Fe, New Mexico. I lived in Santa for a few years, now." I shrug off the identity; I've been doing these for so long I sometimes question how valid these really are, anymore.

"Decent, sounds like a good explanation if anyone asks. How do you feel about this change?"

"I am hoping this place will be our last."

He gives me a hard stare and says, "John… If things get bad we will move, no questions. This is about our race and its survival."

"I get that, but don't you get sick of the constant moves and lies?"

"Yes, but I know it's for a bigger purpose. Listen, I know this must be hard on you. Florida we stayed a little longer than most places but we have to keep on our toes. It's not the same now, those shit-head Mogadorians have their eyes set on you."

"A lot happened in Florida…" I sneer, he was using all the excuses in the book like I am not aware of what is going on around me.

He sighs glancing at the rear-view mirror, then on me for a split moment and says, "You know that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean, then?"

"I worry about you, John. I always fear the worst…"

"The worst already happened! My home is gone, I have a whole race of aliens after me, and even then I still screwed my own race over. Oh yeah, and I am becoming an endangered species…"After a moment I decided to ask a question that had been on my mind for a while now, "Henri? How did Julianne get caught anyways?"

"The Mogs finding you would be terrible without being prepared for them…" He glances at me with concerning eyes, takes in a breath and says, "Julianne… Julianne, She got caught because of my ignorance, I didn't watch all my steps, and I trusted people I shouldn't have given so much reliance in. My virtues killed her; I still have a hard time rationalizing why she had given me so much faith."

I reach out my hand and just chastely brush my finger tips on his forearm, "Technically you saved her from a worse fate… Who exactly ratted you guy's out?" I reach for his right hand that is loosely gripping the steering wheel.

"Someone that I am hoping will stay in the past… Thanks John…" he grabs my hand that had reached out to him with his right, our fingers lace and he kisses the top of my hand.

"No problem… But I'm curious; wouldn't you have been executed too? I mean since you helped her and Morgan?"

"…It's complicated." The far off look back in his eyes as he said this.

"Okay …So, having that Jinx how does it exactly work?"

"It's like a telekinetic-connection, we can share memories, we can always feel the other presences and it's not like we can suddenly shut each other out, either… The bad part is any pain or distress, or misery… We feel it. If I died you'd know it."

"So, nothing's really a secret?" once I say it, it dawns on me, Henri knew exactly how I felt about anything these past years, I had marked him. He knew about the kiss with Terra, he knew about Aurora, he knew my feelings for him when I hadn't known it myself! I feel my cheeks radiate with heat.

"Are you flustered? I don't believe this, do you have secrets!" Henri grins and chuckles.

"I don't, do you?" Our sights meet and his retreat back to the road.

"That… You'll have to find out yourself."

I shudder to think his memories are far closer than I gave credit. He has secrets, secrets I will find out soon enough.

-

"Wake up," he says it gently and I feel a nudge on my arm.

I open my eyes, and see nothing but fields and the rain hitting the glass windows. The clock on the dash says 7:58; I look out the window and read the sign,

**WELCOME TO PARADISE, OHIO  
>POPULATION 5, 243 <strong>

"Wow," I say, "This is smaller than the place we stayed in, in Montana."

―STARSͽ


End file.
